Slow down you crazy child
Take the phone off the hook and disappear for a while
It’s alright you can afford to lose a day or two

[Vienna - Billy Joel]

Billy Joel’s Vienna, I think, is such a great song with amazing lyrics. I’ve been in love with the song ever since the first time I heard it in 13 Going On 30 (I know it’s too late, as the song is really an old song). The lyrics fit a sort of character like mine, I suppose.

One of the parts I like from the lyrics is the above quote.

I notice that, as much as I’m never prepared for, even a less social person like I am still gets new acquaintances now and then. I notice as well that having a career means that you get more and just more acquaintances, aside from that salary you get every end of the month. What I’ve never really thought about from having a career, is that the more noisy sound you have to hear from your phone, including on your expected-to-be-serene rare-to-get holiday.

Not trying to be selfish, but a couple of weeks ago I did what Billy Joel told me through his song—to take the phone off the hook and disappear for a while. Yes, I turned off my cell—took out the SIM card and put it in a hidden pocket of my wallet, then put the cell at a dark corner of my cupboard. Planned to disappear for a week, but something unexpected happened, so I could only tried his advice for 3.5 days.

The very first minute of the trial, gosh I was restless. My cell phone has always been an intimate part of my life, so… you know. Not to mention that I’ve been pretty close with someone, we send SMS to each other practically every day. So it was hard, pretty much

Well, it didn’t go too long, anyway. I realized (and still do) that taking the phone off the hook for a little while is relieving, as a matter of fact. I remember hearing news about a research on cell phone users. It was mentioned that cell users felt more tense in their lives; you know, like once you hear SMS coming, your heart actually and often beats about twice faster, as you wonder who sends it—whether or not it’s from your significant other or something. So, hiding my cell didn’t give me that tense. I felt free for a while from the hectic life. And it was such a nice freedom :) 

Traveling–all you have to do is take the first step.
–Ibn Battuta

Eid was coming soon, but I never like the making-cakes-and-cookies ‘tradition’ from the very first place. I don’t like baking. I don’t like staying too long in the kitchen. And I don’t like staying too long in the house either, just don’t get it.

… maybe it’s just because of my lovely haven, which is my bedroom—it’s so dirty and messy

So, 9 October 2007, I took my ‘first step’. It wasn’t planned, at all. I went to my fave hotspot area (my previous campus), but no connection on the internet (it had been two days with the same condition), made me in a bad mood. So I just drove my bike to many random areas, probably almost half of the city and a bit of the outer. Gosh, this city–Pontianak–is just so hectic, while the outer is a bit serene.

At first, I considered my going only as a survey or something before I’d do the ‘real’ traveling to some interesting places in the city and around, but then after changing my notebook’s bag with the smaller one and after grabbing my given-by-my-only-big-brother digital camera and put it into my small bag, I went driving through the same route, again. I definitely took my FIRST STEP to travel

Before I finish my route, I saw this road sign (left = Sei Kakap, right = Pelabuhan/Harbor). Previously, on my ’survey’, I took the right turn. You can guess next, I was triggered to take the left turn at the very last minute.

Back then, when I was a little girl, my dad took me and my brother once to a seafood resto in Sei Kakap. It was located both very near and above the sea. I’ve been planning that my first travel, ideally, would be to a beach or something. That’s why I went to Kakap, even without a neat plan, even it was raining, and even it was so, so, so far away. Along the straight, smooth road, I felt this weird feeling of going alone by a motorcycle to a strange place that I didn’t know what to face later (well, I remember the resto, but no clue about the exact route). I felt ‘romantic’

Once I saw coconut trees everywhere, I was thrilled without warning. Reminded me of beaches (I always believe that beaches are the most gorgeous, peaceful places on earth). But then I remembered, coconut trees could grow practically anywhere. A coconut tree grows at my grandpa’s backyard. And no beaches, at all, in his small village or around. It’s a mountainuous area, instead.

After tens and tens of kilometers, I came to the end of the road. It had both the left and right turns. I took the left just in random, but then realized a sign at my right–a name of a beach (was it Taman Pantai Indah Kakap or something…?). Yep, I turned again and followd the sign.

Apparently, it was just a restaurant. From the two gates, I could see the smooth waves of the sea water. I didn’t have any courage to enter the resto. So, with a bit disappointment, I went straight more from the beach sign. I felt goosebumps (the good one) when comprehending that my nose could smell the salty air from the sea. Actually the sea was very, very near at my left, but too many bushes and small buildings, I could only see flashes of the sea. God, I almost lost my patience. I felt like running through the bushes and just jumped to touch the sea water, but no, didn’t do that.

I kept driving forward and…

… and I came to this soil road that was slippery here and there after it was raining. I became hesitated. In one side of my head, I was (pretty) sure that the end of the (bit) damaged road would bring me to a beach or something. And in another side of my head, I heard a whispering voice telling me to stop just right there and turn around. I followed the luring visualization of a sea.

At my left, coconut trees, bushes, a few houses and small, not-clear rivers. At my right side, several small houses. There were only a few people passing by. As much as I wanted to see the sea (clearly), I didn’t wanna take the risk of being lost or something in a village that I didn’t even know the name. So I stopped in front of the only traditional house I saw. The rest of the houses there had adapted the modern architecture style, that’s why I captured that one-of-a-kind house using my digital camera. I felt like a real traveler

After taking a few pictures, I went back but…

… the road was getting more slippery, I thought, I fell off from my bike… two times (first to the left, and second–after a few meters–to the right). Thank God there were three guys kindly helping me out from the bad situation. Mud was almost all over my body and my bike. I felt weak in sudden, so I decided to go back home. And the rain got heavier.

My first, independent, unplanned travel… finally.

What an experience! Loved it! My first debut in traveling

… and I’m gonna go back there again, soon …

Traveling–it leaves you speechless, then turns you into a storyteller.
– Ibn Battuta 

This isn’t a well-known bakery in my town. The bakery’s products are sold solely in mini markets, anyway. Tight budget is what led me (and my one friend) to decide to buy a pack of medium-sized choco nut bread from that bakery’s brand. My friend was going to sleep over at my place and definitely we needed something to eat to keep us awake, as our main intention was to edit her final paper. So the bread accompanied us until very late at night.The texture of it isn’t really soft like other breads from a few famous brands here, but it tastes good. The round-shaped bread consists of, maybe, five or six slices, and we ate them all in less than twenty minutes.

Whether the chocolate and the chopped nuts are a bit rough, but I think that leads to a pretty nice sensation in tongue and in-between teeth.

When you’re a little bit out of money but still want to taste a nice choco bread, this one’s an option. And when you’re a bit in to the chips, I suppose you’ll want something else.

Been one of my fave chocolate products—choco balls from L’Agie. Sometimes, when I have the time to visit some stores and in a balanced financial state or something, I eat these balls for my brunch and afternoon snack. I learn from Picabo Street (an Alpine ski racer) and Michelle Kwan (a figure skater) that it’s important to keep feeding your belly with these kinds of sweets to keep you going till the next meal. The two athletes look healthy by having M&M’s and Power Bars regularly, so I trust their advice

These balls are actually round, small biscuits glazed with yummy chocolate. Maybe because they’re small, I can’t get enough to wanting more. And the best part, I may say, is the price of each pack—it’s NOT expensive This product has been in this country for many, many years, and it’s still cheap. And still delicious as well. So great.

You know, to my knowledge, not all cheap chocolates taste nice, so this one is special, I suppose.